Vandals spray-painted and torched a mosque in the southern West Bank early Monday in an attack Palestinian witnesses and officials blamed on Israeli settlers.
They said six armed men in a white car drove into Beit Fajjar village near Bethlehem at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and spray-painted Hebrew insults on the walls before setting the building alight, AFP reported.
Some of the group were wearing Jewish skullcaps and at least one wore a mask, they said, adding that the men appeared to be Israeli settlers.
Several Qur’ans and prayer rugs were incinerated in the attack, according to Ali Sawabta, of the local municipality.
Al-Jazeera also showed images appearing to be of burned Qur’ans, a charred carpet inside the mosque and spray-paint on the walls.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the incident was under investigation without providing details as to who may have been behind it.

Of Utmost Gravity
"This is very serious incident which we view with utmost gravity and we intend to find those responsible as quickly as possible," military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Liebowitz told Reuters.
Police detained several settlers after a West Bank mosque was torched and vandalized in December 2009 and firefighters said another mosque fire in May of this year was likely caused by arson.
Hardline settlers have adopted what they call a "price tag" policy under which they attack Palestinians, their fields or villages, whenever the Israeli government takes measures to curb settlement construction.
The dispute over Jewish settlements has been at the heart of tense US-led negotiations aimed at rescuing Israel-Palestinian peace talks after a ban on building new settler homes in the West Bank expired on September 26. The Palestinians view the presence of some 500,000 Israelis in scores of settlements across the occupied West Bank and east Beit-ul-Moqaddas as a major impediment to the establishment of their promised state. The international community views all the settlements as illegal, and the dispute has been one of the thorniest issues in past peace talks.

Call for Robust Lebanon Ties

Compiled by Davood Baqeri

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil ahead of his first official visit to that country.
He told the visiting minister on Sunday that cementing relations between the two countries is in the interest of both nations, Presstv reported.
Lauding the resilience and resistance of the Lebanese people against the US-backed occupying power, the president said Iran is a friend of the Lebanese people nation and wants to boost relations with the country. The Lebanese minister said Israel has targeted his country’s very existence.
“The Lebanese people's resistance and their unity led to defeat of the Zionist regime,” IRNA quoted Bassil as saying.
In a meeting with Bassil, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said stability and unity in Lebanon would help foil the plots of enemies and “peace and stability will create the grounds for development” in that country. The Lebanese official arrived in Tehran on Saturday to confer with his Iranian counterpart Majid Namjou and other officials and discuss ways to bolster Beirut-Tehran interaction in the key energy and water sectors.
Mottaki was quoted as saying that Ahmadinejad's tour of Lebanon will help open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
The president is expected to call on President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and leaders of the Hezbollah.
Call for Robust...
From Page 1
Losing Nerve
Speaking at the weekend the president said national spirit and self-reliance are increasing in the country while the hegemonic powers’ role and political influence are falling onteh wayside.
The harsh stance adopted by President Barack Obama against Tehran in recent days was a “very low-level” and demonstrated that Washington had “lost its nerve”, IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in a meeting with a group of lawmakers in Tehran.
He underscored that “oppressors” perceive they can push Iran on shaky ground with their sanctions and other restrictions “ but Iranians with their self-reliance have rendered the sanctions ineffective”.
He added that the corrupted and power-mongers will ultimately be challenged and vanquished by the faithful and justice-seekers.
He called for closer unity and rapport between the government and parliament, urging lawmakers to delve deeply into the bills and motions they vote on so that “more constructive legislation”would be passed.

Back to 9/11
Addressing a group of officials in the city of Hashtgerd on Sunday, Ahmadinejad again renewed a call for an independent probe into the 9/11 attacks in the US and said the truth about the terrorist crimes should be clearly established for world public opinion.
The president recalled his speech at the UN General Assembly last week and said western rulers were unable to respond to the questions he raised over the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
The US and its allies used the shocking attacks as a pretext to send their armies to the volatile Middle East and did as they pleased Ahmadinejad said.
He urged the United States government to respond to a long list of questions that still remain unanswered regarding 9/11.
“The US started a game to attack our region and wants to plunder the wealth of the region and dominate it”.
He asked the US to identify and execute the rouge elements involved in the 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000 people and said, “We are ready to help Washington arrest them if it supplies us with the evidence.”
In a speech on September 22 speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, the president raised serious doubts about the credibility of Washington’s account of the source and nature of the attacks. “A very powerful and intricate terrorist group, able to successfully cross all layers of American intelligence and security, carried out the attack,” he told the assembly.
Ahmadinejad said despite untiring US attempts to establish its own version of the dastardly act, many in the world remain unconvinced and believe “some segments within the US government orchestrated the attack to contain the decline in the US economy and its loosening grip on the Middle East to save the Zionist regime.”

Test of Wills

As head of the State of Law alliance Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has been re-nominated for the top job for a second term by the National Iraqi Alliance. However, he is facing serious challenges and an uphill task in forming a new government.
The Iraqiya bloc led by the western-backed former premier and politician Iyad Allawi has said it will not take part in any government that is headed by Maliki. The bloc had won 91 seats in Iraq’s 325-seat parliament in the inconclusive March 7 parliamentary elections -- two seats more than the popular State of Law alliance.
Reports indicate that the Iraqiya bloc along with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq headed by Ammar Al-Hakim and the Islamic Virtue Party (Al-Fadhila Party) headed by Abdelrahim Al-Husseini, have agreed to put together a committee to look into ways to form the long-awaited government.
Political observers believe the political rifts between Maliki and other key players and parties that took part in the spring elections, have made the task of forming a new government more difficult for Maliki and his aides.
To form a government Maliki needs to win 50 percent plus one vote in the parliament and currently, his supporters only hold 143 seats in the legislative body, which means that he needs to secure at least 20 more votes to hold on to the job of prime minister.
The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and the Islamic Virtue Party, which did not participate the National Iraqi Alliance meeting for nominating a prime minister, have placed conditions for cooperating with Maliki.
The Kurdistan Alliance, on the other hand, has linked its support for Maliki to that of the Islamic Supreme Council. Mahmoud Othman, a prominent member of the Kurdistan Alliance, has reiterated that the Kurds have a tendency towards factions that take into consideration their demands.
The embattled Maliki has called on all political groups to resume serious negotiations on forming a national unity government. He has particularly urged the Iraqiya group not to boycott the new government.
Warning about the grave consequences of the boycott by political groups, Maliki has made known that such moves will obviously not be in the interest of any party and would only make a bad situation worse.
Addressing the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, he said he understands the conditions set by the bloc. Currently Maliki is trying to gain the support of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq as well as the Islamic Virtue Party. The move makes sense simply because gaining support of the blocs is tantamount to garnering backing of the Kurds.
In order to calm the atmosphere between the State of Law alliance and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Maliki has highlighted the strategic ties between the two parties as the two key sides in the National Iraqi Alliance. As both friend and foe test his vision and ability to get the job done, he also has urged the powerful Kurdistan Alliance to come forward in the national interest and help set up the much-delayed
executive body in Baghdad.

Top Children Theater Works Awarded

The 17th International Children and the Young Adults Theater Festival ended in Hamedan province on Sunday after announcing winners in different categories.
The 17th International Children and the Young Adults Theater Festival ended in Hamedan province on Sunday after announcing winners in different categories.
The closing ceremony was attended by deputy head of culture and Islamic guidance ministry’s artistic department, Hamid Shahabadi, Mehr News Agency wrote.
In the international category, ‘The Story of the Flying Apple’ by Mojtaba Mehdi was awarded a plaque of honor and a cash prize of $400.
‘Sultan and Kotzbrocken’ was selected the best play receiving an honorary plaque and a cash prize of $1,000.
It was a joint performance by Germany’s KiTZ theater company and Iran’s Maani troupe.
The play is based on a book by the same title, written by German author Claudia Schreiber. It is about a king and his servant. The king is completely irresponsible and wants his servant to cater to his every whim.
The Irano-German troupe plans to perform the play in the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Shiraz and later in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
‘Sultan and Kotzbrocken’ also won awards for the best actor, actress, direction and costume design.
‘The Clown’s Strange Travel’ topped the Iranian Competition category. The play earned director Reza Younesfard the festival’s statuette and a cash prize of $1,500.
The 17th International Children and the Young Adults Theater was held from September 29 to October 2.
Five foreign works from Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Russia and Ireland took part in the four-day event.

Cracks Deepen in Iraq's Political Quarters

A Sunni-backed bloc that came first in elections seven months ago is united against the bid by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to remain in office, a party spokesman said Monday, in another clear sign of deep divisions over efforts to end Iraq's political impasse.
The pledge of solidarity against Al-Maliki vividly shows the rifts since the March elections but means little to effectively block his bid to retain power, AP reported.
Maliki is close to putting together a parliamentary majority after getting backing from hard-line Shiite factions and others. Support from Kurdish parties would give him a commanding coalition and the ability to begin forming a government.

Direct Blow
The defiant stance of the Sunni-backed group threatens to shatter the fragile rapprochement between majority Sunnis and Shiites just three years since the country stepped back from the brink of sectarian civil war. It also is a direct blow to US calls for a new government to represent all Iraqi rival groups and move ahead with reconciliation and desperately needed reconstruction projects.
Hayder Al-Mulla, a spokesman for the Sunni-backed Iraqiya group, demanded that Maliki and his allies "give up the post" of prime minister to acknowledge the narrow election victory of Ayad Allawi, Iraqiya's leader. Allawi served as prime minister after the US-led invasion in 2003.

“The prime minister’s post is for all Iraqis and not for one sect or one party,” he said in a direct reference to the dominance of Shiites political affairs and security forces since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime.
Allawi’s coalition won the most seats in the March parliamentary elections but could not pull in enough partners to gain a majority in the 325-seat chamber.
The comments by the party spokesman also sought to counter reports of defections to Maliki’s side.
“Iraqiya says clearly it won’t participate in any government headed by Maliki. Our reservations over Maliki come out of the bitter experiences of the past four years,” Mulla told reporters at a parliament press conference. The house has only had one informal session that lasted 20 minutes since March, in which lawmakers protested the postelection deadlock.

Europe on Alert After Fears of Qaeda Attack

Japan on Monday became the latest country after Britain and the United States to issue a travel alert for its citizens amid growing fears of a major Al-Qaeda attack on landmark sites in Europe.
Tokyo joined Washington and London in issuing an alert warning of "possible terrorist attack" by Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups against their citizens travelling in Europe, AFP reported.
The US State Department said in its alert on Sunday that attackers may use "a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests" in Europe.
Britain immediately backed the US alert and warned its own citizens of a "high threat of terrorism" in France and Germany.
The Japanese alert urges its citizens living or travelling in Europe to exercise full caution at possible attack targets, such as government and police facilities, public transport systems and tourist spots.

List of Targets
US channel Fox News, citing unnamed intelligence officials, said militants had a list of targets in France and Germany, including Paris's Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the city's central railway station and the Alexanderplatz TV tower.

Fox cited a senior western intelligence official as saying that the information about the target list was provided by “a German-Pakistani national interrogated at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.”
A small number of soldiers patrolled as usual at the foot of the Eiffel Tower early Monday as long lines of visitors waited to climb the tower, a magnet for many of the 74.2 million visitors to France last year.
Though there were no visible signs of heightened security, some tourists said they felt more vigilant than usual.
“We decided not to go up the Eiffel Tower because of the possibility of what could happen” after hearing of the travel advisory on CNN, said Eileen Carbrello, 60, a tourist from Virginia.
“This to me seems usual. It’s the same kind of security we have in Washington,” said her friend Joanne Molinari, a resident of the US capital, referring to the armed soldiers.
Likewise, the security threat level in Germany had not changed, the interior ministry said.
US tourists in Berlin were undeterred Monday as they visited a surviving piece of the Berlin Wall at Postdamer Platz.
Of the 10.6 million Americans who visited Europe last year, 1.5 million visited Germany, 250,000 of them going to Berlin.

High Threat Level
Another key European tourist draw is Italy, where Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Monday the threat level remained “high” but that no specific targets had been identified as being under particular threat. “The terrorist alert has never been underestimated, it remains high and our security forces are watching the situation closely,” Maroni said on Canale 5 television network. Italy has been on high alert since attempted bombing last year of a police barracks in Milan, near the San Siro football stadium.
“US citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling,” said the US alert, which is one step down from a travel warning.

Tehran-Cairo Flights to Resume

Iran and Egypt agreed on Sunday to resume direct flights between their capitals for the first time in 30 years.
Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Hamid Baqaie and Egypt’s Minister of Civil Aviation Ahmed Shafiq oversaw the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Hamid Ghavabesh, deputy chief of the Iranian National Aviation Company and the head of Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority Sameh Hefni, Fars News Agency reported.
“This accord will replace the one signed between both countries in 1976 and is in line with the developments in air transport,” Hefni said.
The agreement provides for 28 direct flights between Tehran and Cairo per week, 14 by airlines based in each country. It does not specify when flights will resume.
An Iranian delegation headed by the Vice President Hamid Baqaie arrived in Cairo on Sunday in a bid to expand mutual cooperation between the two countries in the tourism and air transportation sectors.
The visit is believed to be a prelude to the resumption of ties between the two countries since they broke off official diplomatic relations in 1980. Tehran was critical of Cairo’s peace treaty with Israel.
Since then, the two countries have maintained only interest sections in each other’s capitals.
Ties between the two were further strained during the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip in December 2008-January 2009. Tehran criticized Egypt during the war for its refusal to open the Rafah border-crossing, the only route for the impoverished Gaza Strip to receive aid.

Anti-Drug Campaign

Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said on Sunday Iran has stepped up its campaign against drug trafficking and smugglers.
Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said on Sunday Iran has stepped up its campaign against drug trafficking and smugglers.
“Iran has intensified its anti-drug campaign, using modern means to track down smugglers,” he told Fars News Agency.
Provinces, governorates and districts across the country should use their “authority” to combat illicit drugs, he said in a meeting on the anti-drug campaign in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.
The official called for plans to spread awareness among the youth to curb demand for the killer drugs.
Borders with neighboring Afghanistan should be policed more strictly to curtail the inflow of narcotics, he added.
To that end, he said more effective measures are needed to help prevent foreign nationals from entering Iran illegally and improve the provincial economic infrastructure to discourage drug trade.
The minister said more than $1 million was allocated this year to seal the borders, especially in the crime-infested east and northwest regions.
Extra finances will be allocated to buy sniffer dogs, equip checkpoints, promote drug rehabilitation programs and round up junkies from the streets.

Drugs Seized
As the number of drug cartels continues to increase near the eastern frontiers, Iran seized over 210 tons of illegal substances from the streets, Najjar was quoted as saying.
“Intensifying the campaign against drug smuggling and arresting gang leaders is on the agenda,” he said.
The minister said authorities had arrested 84,700 smugglers since the beginning of the Iranian year (March 21).
Iranian officials often criticize the US forces in neighboring Afghanistan, saying the mission has failed to stabilize the war-torn country and stop the flow of narcotics and other organized crime.
In a meeting with Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yuri Fedotov last week, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said foreign forces in Afghanistan should be held accountable for the “shocking increase in annual drug production from 300 to 900 tons.”
The UN drugs monitoring body said in its 2010 report that Afghanistan continues to account for 90 percent of the world’s illicit opium and heroin production.

China Support

China pledged on Sunday to support a stable euro and not reduce its holdings of European government bonds in an effort to deflect criticism of its foreign exchange policy ahead of an EU-China summit this week.
China pledged on Sunday to support a stable euro and not reduce its holdings of European government bonds in an effort to deflect criticism of its foreign exchange policy ahead of an EU-China summit this week.
At loggerheads with the United States over the yuan and likely to face similar complaints during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s tour of European countries this week, China emphasized its willingness to cooperate with the 27-nation EU, Reuters reported.
“I have made clear that China supports a stable euro,” Wen said during a visit to Greece at the start of a one-week European tour. “We will not reduce the holdings of European bonds in our foreign exchange portfolio.”

Buying Greek Debt
Wen, who offered on Saturday to buy an unspecified amount of Greek government bonds when debt-laden Athens resumes issuing, said on Sunday he was glad Greece was starting to emerge from the shadows of its debt crisis.
“With its foreign exchange reserve, China has already bought and is holding Greek bonds and will keep a positive stance in participating and buying bonds that Greece will issue,” Wen said, speaking through an interpreter.
“China will undertake a great effort to support eurozone countries and Greece to overcome the crisis”.
Wen and his Greek counterpart George Papandreou said in a statement the world’s nations need to coordinate their economic policies for global recovery to find a sure footing.
“The global economy shows signs of gradual recovery but many uncertainties remain,” the two leaders said in the statement, issued on Saturday by Papandreou’s office after the two men met in Athens.
In addition to seeing economic opportunities in Greece, China may calculate its support of a struggling European country will help deflect international criticism of its trade policies and its refusal to let its yuan currency appreciate sharply.
Wen did not specify how much Greek debt China would be willing to buy or which Chinese entities would buy the bonds.
China has said it needs to diversify its foreign currency holdings and has bought Spanish government bonds.
However, Chinese state entities have been generally conservative about investing in foreign financial markets and the Chinese government faces domestic political criticism over losses they incurred during the global financial crisis.

Freeing the Yuan
At the height of the European debt crisis earlier this year, Chinese officials, concerned that the crisis could hurt the global economy, pressed European officials to take action to address the debt problem and restore confidence in the euro.
Beijing has rejected any international discussion of its own foreign exchange policy to date. It even blocked an attempt by G20 leaders in June to praise its decision to allow greater flexibility in the yuan’s exchange rate.
“Policy moves by the Chinese government to free the yuan from a dollar peg will help the Chinese currency rise,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the IMF, said on Saturday.
Ahead of a China-EU summit on Oct. 6, Wen urged the block to recognize China as a market economy, a status that would make it less vulnerable to anti-dumping charges under WTO rules.
In exchange, China offered to boost copyright protection and widen bilateral trade.
“China commits to improving investment environment, to intensify copyright protection, widen bilateral trade and upgrade technology cooperation,” he said in his speech in Greece’s Parliament through an interpreter.

Still an Emerging Economy
Wen stresses that despite its growth, China remains an emerging economy.
“The basic reality of China, such as a huge population, a weak economic base, and unbalanced growth has not radically changed,” Wen told parliament.
“Per capita GDP is just one-eighth of Greece’s and the percentage of population below the poverty line is three times that of Greece. China continues to be an emerging country.”
Wen and his Greek counterpart George Papandreou said in a joint statement the world’s nations need to coordinate economic policies for global recovery to find a sure footing.
“Global economic recovery is a journey with many turns and a full exit from it requires joint efforts,” Wen said on Sunday.
On Saturday, Wen said he was willing to work with the EU to confront the financial crisis and reform the international financial system.
He said he was confident Greece was on track to exit a debt crisis that shook the euro and said China wanted to boost cooperation with Greece, which faces its worst recession in decades.
“Greece is China’s best friend in the EU,” Wen said at a meeting with Greek opposition leader Antonis Samaras.
Bilateral trade volume should double to €8 billion a year in 2015 with traditional Greek exports such as olive oil increasing.
“A few months ago, (we) signed an agreement to purchase 290 tons of Greek olive oil,” Wen said. “Last night, for the first time in my life, I dipped a bite of bread in olive oil. It tasted very good.”

Rousseff in Runoff

Ruling-party candidate Dilma Rousseff, who is trying to become Brazil’s first female leader, fell short of getting a majority of votes in presidential elections and now faces a runoff in four weeks against an experienced, centrist rival.
Ruling-party candidate Dilma Rousseff, who is trying to become Brazil’s first female leader, fell short of getting a majority of votes in presidential elections and now faces a runoff in four weeks against an experienced, centrist rival.
According to AP, Rousseff--popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s hand-chosen successor--outpaced rival Jose Serra 46.9 percent to 32.6 percent in Sunday’s vote, but didn’t get the 50 percent she needed to win outright. Analysts were split on whether there was enough campaign time left for the underdog opposition candidate to close the gap.
Much depends on the other female candidate, the Green Party’s Marina Silva, who won a surprising 19.4 percent of the vote. She said her party’s leadership would decide whether to throw their support behind Rousseff or Serra, though she emphasized it was up to individual voters to make their own choices.
Rousseff, a former Marxist militant who was imprisoned for three years and tortured under Brazil’s military dictatorship, long ago left behind her rebel background and has made a career as a pragmatic bureaucrat, most recently serving as President Silva’s chief of staff.

Rousseff’s Popularity
Much of Brazil’s electorate barely knew who Rousseff was just a few months ago, but her popularity skyrocketed after it became clear she was Silva’s candidate when campaigning began in July. The president enjoys approval ratings that hover near 80 percent and he has transferred much of that popularity to Rousseff.
Silva, who is legally barred from seeking a third term, was also forced into second-round votes in his 2002 and 2006 presidential victories, a fact Rousseff alluded to following Sunday’s election.
“We are used to challenges. Traditionally, we have fared well in the second round,” Rousseff told supporters in Brasilia. “I’m confident that the second round will provide an important process of elucidation, of dialogue with the representatives of society.”

Rival’s Hopes
Serra exuberantly met supporters in the early morning hours Monday, saying that his Brazilian Social Democracy Party was “going to march to victory” in the Oct. 31 runoff vote and retake the presidency for the first time since Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s 1994-2002 administrations.
“A second round is a whole new ball game. Everything starts from zero,” said Alexandre Barros, with the Early Warning political risk group in Brasilia. “I would say Dilma has a strong chance of winning a second round. But it will all depend on what new facts emerge during the campaign.”
Serra, 68, is a former mayor and governor of Sao Paulo who was badly defeated by Silva in the 2002 election. He, too, has promised to continue the policies of Silva.
Fred Vani, a 25-year-old businessman in Sao Paulo, said after casting his ballot that he and other voters want to see some differences.
“With Dilma winning, I don’t see a lot changing in the country, it will be more of the same, and that’s not good enough,” he said. “We need the next president working hard on structural reforms, especially the tax reform. We need something different from what we have now.”
But 32-year-old mechanic Marcelo Gusmao said Silva had done much for the poor--and that Rousseff was the candidate to continue that work.
“I voted for Dilma because I feel she will give continuity to what Lula has done in eight years--reducing poverty and improving the economy,” he said after voting in the industrial city of Sao Bernardo do Campo, Silva’s hometown.

Ethics Scandal
A month ago it appeared Rousseff would get a first-round win, but an ethics scandal involving one of her former aides who took her post as Silva’s chief of staff a few months back received heavy media coverage and dented her standings in the polls just enough to keep first-round victory out of her reach.
The campaign has been short on substance and long on arguing about who would more efficiently continue the policies of the Silva presidency--eight years during which 20.5 million people have been lifted from poverty.
About 135 million voters also cast ballots for governors, mayors and state and federal houses of Congress. Under Brazilian law, voting is mandatory for citizens between the ages of 18 and 70. Not voting could result in a small fine and make it impossible to obtain a passport or a government job, among other penalties.

U-19 Beaten

Goals in each half from Ji Dong-won and Jung Seung-yong saw South Korea begin their Asian Football Confederation U-19 Championship challenge with a 2-0 win over Iran in an entertaining encounter at Linzi Stadium.
Goals in each half from Ji Dong-won and Jung Seung-yong saw South Korea begin their Asian Football Confederation U-19 Championship challenge with a 2-0 win over Iran in an entertaining encounter at Linzi Stadium.
Ji broke the deadlock with a deflected shot in the 38th minute and Jung added a second 11 minutes after the break to hand the East Asians the perfect start in Group D, Afc.com reported.
But it was Iran that almost took the lead straight from the kick-off as Milad Qaribi saw a 20-yard shot rattle the cross bar.
Iman Shirazi then sent a diving header just wide of the post as Iran started at a furious pace before Korea had their first chance after six minutes but Kim Kyung-jung drove a shot straight at keeper Iman Sadeqi from eight yards.
Jung Seung-yong almost scored direct from the resulting corner but Sadeqi clawed the ball out from under the bar.
Jung curled a free-kick just too high after 15 minutes and then managed to round Sadeqi almost immediately after but the striker overran the ball for a goal kick.
The Korean defense was unable to deal with a long throw three minutes later and Qaribi poked a good chance wide from close range when unmarked.
Jung thought he had given the East Asians a 23rd minute leaded when he headed in a corner but it was disallowed for a foul on the keeper.
Payam Sadeqian fired wide from 20 yards and Baek Sung-dong sliced a volley past the post when the ball broke to the midfielder in the box before Korea went in front in the 38th minute.
Ji Dong-won twisted and turned on the edge of the area and his deflected shot went in off the far post.
Sadeqi did well to turn away Ji’s header that was bound for the top corner at the start of the second-half before Jung doubled Korea’s advantage in the 56th minute when the striker slid home at the far post.
Ji then tried to head a long ball over the top over the onrushing Sadeqi but the keeper was equal to the effort and at the other end, Qaribi worked space for a shot on the edge of the area but keeper No Dong-geon saved low to his left.
Qaribi was unable to take advantage of a fumble by the Korean keeper with just under quarter of an hour remaining and Jung headed wide with the Iran defense watching on after the ball had been lobbed back into the box.
Sadeqian side-footed straight at No from 10 yards with seven minutes to go following a cutback and substitute Yun Il-lok had a great chance to add a third but the Iranian keeper excellently tipped his shot over the bar after he bore down on goal.